Always With You
by Flight of the Sparrow
Summary: Sokka has some time to himself and doesn't like it. He dwells on the past and it hurts, hurts more than he ever thought. Oneshot. Sokka&Yue. Read and review please!


Sokka kept a steady gaze on the clouds ahead of the flying bison. He sighed and turned to look at his sister and friends. Toph, Katara, and Aang slept soundly as they hovered above enemy territory. And they deserved their rest. Who would have known Aang was such a great dancer? The thought made Sokka smile in amusement of the night's earlier event. But his smile vanished quickly when he thought of his other friend, whom he had to leave behind. Sokka always thought about Suki. He hadn't seen her since the trip to Ba Sing Se and knew that even she, a great Kiyoshi warrior, could never have withstood the power of Azula and her friends Mai, and Ty Lee. Sokka thought about the last time he saw her, but at the same time, he didn't want to. Before they parted, things were awkward for him, and he knew why. Yue, the northern water tribe's princess, but now is only known as the spirit of the moon. Sokka shook his head, thinking it would clear out the image of her.

He continued to look straight ahead of him even as a great light came out from behind a cloud above them. The bright lunar orb hung in the stillness of the air. Sokka looked at it longingly, wanting to see whom he had missed since leaving the North Pole. Sokka lowered his eyes from the moon. "Yue," he whispered, "I miss you." He closed his eyes and all was silent except for the howling wind rushing past his ears. Tears fell into his lap. It was the first time he had ever actually cried over her. Suddenly, and from nowhere, a voice seemed to speak through the wind. "I misssss yooouuuuu, toooooo." it seemed to say. Sokka jumped. He had not expected any answer. Half skeptical, he decided to try it again. "Yue? Where are you?" Sokka closed his eyes and strained his ears for another answer. The warrior felt a tap on his shoulder. He jerked forward and hurriedly asked, "Yue?!" No, it was Katara. Disappointment showed on his face.

Katara was surprised by her brother's exclamation. "I'm sorry I startled you. I'll take the next watch; you just get some sleep." Sokka nodded absently and climbed back into the saddle with his sleeping bag as his sister took his place. Katara looked back over her shoulder. "Sokka, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." he said a little too defensively. "I'm fine." he echoed again, softly. He lay down, looked up into the stars, and closed his eyes once more.

Soon, he felt the same rush of wind across his face. "You know where I am." came the sound of a female voice. The warrior once again jerked upright. Beside him, a pool of shimmering white light shone. Slowly, a figure became clear in the light. A girl, not looking much older than Sokka, appeared with long white hair and a sad smile upon her face. Yue. Sokka's mouth hung open but closed it and returned the expression. Yue floated down and sat beside him in Appa's saddle. She leaned over and kissed Sokka on the cheek. She, then, hugged him and whispered in his ear, "I am always with you." She broke away from him and smiled again. "I am always with you," she repeated. "When you look up at the sky at night, you're looking at me. Wherever the moon shines is where I will be. I will be there." Glistening tears fell onto the saddle, and Yue grabbed Sokka once more and hugged him tightly. Sokka held her even tighter, his own tears flowing freely. He held her, as if even loosening his grip by a bit would make her vanish. But it didn't matter. Before long, Sokka only held air, as the light illuminating his face was fading back into the darkness of the night.

Sokka lay back down, with the sad smile upon his face. He knew he hadn't been dreaming. Her touch was real, her kiss was real, and so were her tears. He could still see the stain they had made on the saddle. Sokka burrowed his face into the small pillow and drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Sokka woke to a lump in his pocket, not remembering putting anything there last night. Last night! He remembered. He remembered Yue. He hurriedly sat up and took the thing out of his pocket. He pulled out a bundle of cloth. Wrapped in the cloth were two things; a medallion of a northern water tribe crest on a leather thong and a note. The note read, "I will be there." in Yue handwriting. Sokka also realized that the medallion was one of Yue's own. He never told anyone what had happened last night. That was for him and the moon spirit to ever know.

Sokka treasured the medallion and kept it close to his heart always.


End file.
